Nitrosamines - Where Are They In Your World?

Nitrosamines have been on the radar of health professionals for decades now. Since the 1950's, there has been knowledge that this class of chemical compounds has been implicated as a strong risk for cancer. Two British scientists, John Barnes and Peter Magee, reported that dimethylnitrosamine produced liver tumors in rats. This discovery triggered a large number of scientific investigations on the various compounds of which 90% were determined to be carcinogenic in lab animals. According to Richard Scanlan, Ph.d food scientist at The Linus Pauling Institute, "Since nitrosamines are metabolized the same in human and animal tissues, it seems highly likely that humans are susceptible to the carcinogenic properties of nitrosamines."


So then where do we find these chemicals and how do we eliminate these from our environment? Exposure to nitrosamines or N-nitroso agents, as scientists call them, increased dramatically since the 1950's through food consumption and agricultural practices. Use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers doubled between the years of 1955 and 2005. Additional nitrosamines can be found in pesticides and up until the 1970's virtually all processed meat products added nitrites or nitrates for food preservation. Those that have continued to use nitrosamines added ascorbic acid to prevent these compounds from forming in the meat, but as we shall see shortly this did not solve the problem. Even though the threat of these products have been brought to the awareness of the public, another source that is rarely discussed flies under the radar. It does not contain these compounds, but triggers the synthesis in our digestive tract. Unprocessed red meat, specifially beef and pork, have been found to trigger a reaction in the gut that causes the formation of nitrosamines. Recent studies have indicated that the problem with red meat lies in the heme iron content which is the binded iron compound found in these meats. There can be small amounts of nitrates even in certain vegetables and when it is available in the gut and consumed with heme iron, it creates a problem. According to animal studies conducted at the National Cancer Institute, heme iron produced N-nitroso compounds in the gut, while non-heme sources showed no increase in N-nitroso compounds in the gut at all.

The body of evidence to justify avoiding these compounds flies in the face of the industry that is determined to keep them mainstream. To limit nitrosamine exposure for your body and that of your loved ones, eliminate the use of any processed meats or severly restict their use to once or twice a month and limit intake of red meat to no more than 1 serving a week. If you must have cold cuts, pick poultry that is manufactured without the use of nitrates and nitrites. And lastly, going organic will once again cut your potential risk of exposure. Your health is certainly worth the change.